The sunny area
in the south of Spain offers more to the national economy than simply
tourism. Over the past 50 years, the small coastal plain of Campo
-- about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the city of Almería
-- has been intensively developed for agriculture. An estimated
49,421 acres [delete (20,000 hectares)] of extra-early market produce
is grown in greenhouses in the Campo de Dalías and accounts for
over $1.5 billion dollars in economic activity. The area has a dry
and mild Mediterranean climate and is further sheltered on the north
by the Sierra de Gador. With slightly more than 20 centimeters (8
inches) of annual precipitation to support crop growth, the area
also relies on groundwater fed by small streams and aquifers from
the mountains to the north.

This image
was taken with a digital camera by the crew of the International
Space Station. Note the dense, bright pattern of thousands of greenhouses
extending from the shoreline right up to the base of the mountains
and even into some of the smaller valleys. Salt pan operations can
also be seen in the long coastal lagoons.

Astronaut photograph
ISS008-E-14686
was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory
at Johnson Space Center. The International
Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts
take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists
and the public, and to make those images freely available on the
Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can
be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway
to Astronaut Photography of Earth.